No fewer than 10 pooches from Renfrewshire aim to be top dog as they compete at this year’s Crufts.

Jane McCrone, of Inchinnan, and her 11-month-old golden retriever Maple will be experiencing the world’s best-known dog show for the first time.

She told The Gazette: “It’s such a prestigious event and I’m so proud of Maple. She did so well to qualify, especially because she was only seven months old at the time.

“Maple is just the biggest bundle of energy.”

Also heading to the NEC in Birmingham for the big event is Johnstone woman Denise Symon, whose long-haired chihuahuas Kevin and Colin have qualified.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Denise. “I’ve been part of the event before and it’ll be nice to be back, as there hasn’t been a lot of happy things to look forward to recently.”

Dominique Hogan, from Renfrew, will be at Crufts with three of her six French bulldogs – 13-month-old Oran, three-year-old Alba and six-year-old Opie.

Opie is no stranger to the spotlight, having appeared on BBC TV programme Dragons’ Den last year, after Dominique’s business was destroyed in a devastating fire.

The pair successfully landed a £50,000 investment for Opie’s Emporium – a natural dog treat company.

Dominique said: “I’m so excited for the competition this year. We had to miss out last year because the event got cancelled and I just can’t wait to be back competing.”

Also from Renfrew is Lesley Galloway, whose Jack Russell terrier Jamie aims to impress the Crufts judges.

Lesley said: “I’m just over the moon that we were accepted.”

A number of Paisley pooches will also be competing, courtesy of Frank McCafferty and Jan MacDonald.

Frank will be there with his German shorthaired pointers Zeta and Flugey.

He said: “We’ve had to miss out the last two years, as Zeta had her litter and last year’s event was cancelled, so it’ll just be brilliant to get back out competing again.

“I think this year will be more special than others because all four pups from Zeta’s litter are competing at Crufts – and you don’t hear of that very often. It’s quite rare for an entire litter to qualify.”

Jan is aiming for a prize as she takes Leon, her eight-month-old Great Dane, to the show.

“It has been three years since I’ve shown because, the year before Covid, I broke my leg, so I’m hoping to at least bring home a rosette,” she said.

“This will be Leon’s first time at Crufts and I think he’s going to love it.”

Crufts runs until Sunday, with almost 20,000 dogs on show.

Parts of the event will be live-streamed on YouTube. For more information, visit www.crufts.org.uk.